Orleans Parish Prison deal reached between sheriff, defenders

The Orleans Parish public defenders and Sheriff Marlin Gusmansigned a compromise on Thursday that proposes resolutions to allegedly unconstitutional conditions at Orleans Parish Prison that defense attorneys say don't allow them to meet privately with inmates. "I'm happy to announce that we have reached an accommodation," Civil District Court Judge Kern Reese said as he took the bench on Thursday. Earlier in the week, Reese conferred with the two parties in his chambers, deemed they could find common ground and gave them 72 hours to work out their differences.

Public defenders originally filed suit in March over the conditions. Last month, they asked Reese for a preliminary injunction, noting that even after their suit was filed, Gusman opened a temporary facility that failed to address any of the problems it outlined. The Temporary Detention facility, which opened last month, allows attorney-client visits only through substandard video and muffled telephones connected to the wall, according to affidavits.

The preliminary injunction approved Thursday requires the sheriff to submit construction and renovation plans for any visitation area 30 days before they're finalized.

The four-page document outlines a process that aims to ensure that public defenders can see their jailed clients without having to wait for hours on the public dime. But the agreement applies to inmate visitations by all legal professionals, including law students like those at Loyola University whose professors filed their own petition last month, saying they couldn't teach their students legal ethics and then expose them to jail's conditions.

As a result of the order, the jail is required to maintain standard lawyer-inmate visitation hours and publish them on the sheriff's website. Deputies must produce an inmate within 30 minutes of an attorney's request and allow unlimited time to meet during the established visitation period. They cannot review legal papers or documents or listen to conversations. And they must, if requested in advance, transport inmates to a place where they can meet with their lawyers in a "contact visit," which lawyers say is essential when going over sensitive documents or explaining paperwork to inmates with low literacy.

In a news release, Gusman said he believed "that these parameters will allow the Sheriff's Office to be more efficient in its service to attorneys and inmates." The statement also noted the sheriff didn't admit any violations, a point made clear in the agreement, which includes several paragraphs that outline the sheriff's new policy but begin with the words "without any admission on his part."